A wild boar is an artiodactyl animal belonging to the suborder of pigs (family "pigs"). Other names for wild boars: "boar", "wild pig". It is believed that wild boars are the ancestors of modern domestic pigs. Despite such a close "kinship", boars are strikingly different from domestic pigs. Read this article and you will learn a lot of interesting facts about these animals.

The wild boar is a relative of the domestic pig, but is strikingly different from the usual domestic animals.

Boars have a dense and muscular physique. Their limbs are longer than those of ordinary pigs. The boar's head is elongated, wedge-shaped. Ears erect, large. Males (hooks) have well-developed fangs above and below, which gives them a fiercely warlike appearance. The body of a wild boar is covered with thick fur, which looks like a kind of mane on its back. In winter, the coat is dense, with the onset of heat it becomes more rare. The color of the fur can be grayish, brown, up to black. In wild boars, acromelanism is observed (staining black muzzle, tail and limbs). On the territory of Central Asia, animals with a lighter, reddish tint of fur come across.

Piglets up to six months of age are colored differently than adult boars. Their fur is an alternation of stripes of light, brown and yellow. The baby boar merges with the terrain and is almost invisible to predators.

Habitat

• the whole territory of Europe;
• Asia Minor, Middle East;
• northern part of Africa;
• India;
• east and southeast Asia.

Wild boar lives in any terrain, except for mountains and pigs.

The wild boar is not found in the steppe regions and mountainous areas. The wild boar is also found in the southern part of Siberia: in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the south of the Irkutsk Region. But Transbaikalia with hills and hills these animals do not like.

Wild boars also live in North America. They were brought to the USA from Europe for hunting purposes. An interesting population of Australian wild pigs. These are feral domestic pigs that lead the same way of life as their wild European counterparts. Of course, this is not a separate type of boar.

Unfortunately, in many regions the forest boar has been completely or almost completely exterminated. On the territory of England, wild boars were exterminated in the XIII century, on the territory of Denmark - in the XIX. On the territory of Russia, the number of wild boars was catastrophically reduced by the thirties of the last century. In the 50s of the twentieth century, systematic care began for wild boars and the restoration of the animal population. Now you can meet them even in such a densely populated area as, for example, Losiny Ostrov near Moscow.

Types of wild boars

It is believed that the pig is the second animal domesticated by man (the first was the dog). As for the species diversity of these animals living in the wild, 9 of their varieties are known.

• Boar . Lives in European and Asian forests. Introduced by humans to the Americas. About 25 subspecies of this animal are known.
• Warthog. The habitat of the warthog is the African savannas. It got its name from the growths of the skin on the muzzle. The animal is quite large. Its height reaches 0.85 m, weight - up to 150 kg.
• River boar pig. Lives in Central Africa. This pig flaunts a bright outfit. Her coat is red, with a white stripe on her back. Her diet is quite varied. Along with plant foods, bush pigs do not disdain carrion, they feed on small mammals, birds, and insects.
• Small boar pig lives in Madagascar and in the east of the African continent. The mass of the animal is about 70 kg.
• Big forest pig lives in equatorial African forests. The weight of the beast is 200 kg or more. This species was discovered relatively recently, at the beginning of the 20th century. The diet of these pigs is exclusively vegetarian.
• bearded pig lives in southeast Asia, in the mangrove forests of the Indonesian islands. It differs from its well-fed "relatives" in a more "sporty" physique. The mass of the animal does not exceed 50 kg. Like most pigs, bearded pigs are omnivores.
• Babirussa also inhabits the islands of Indonesia. The height of the animal at the withers is 0.8 m, weight - 80 kg. Differs in low fecundity (no more than 2 piglets). It belongs to rare species (about 4 thousand pigs of this species have survived in nature).
• Java pig.
• pygmy pig- the smallest representative of this family. Its length is not more than 0.65 m, and its height is not more than 0.30 m.

There are more than a dozen species of wild boar, which are very different from each other in appearance.

Dimensions and weight

They depend on the habitats of these animals. The smallest representatives of the boar tribe live in southern India and southeast Asia. A few words about how much a boar weighs. The maximum weight of adult boars does not exceed 45 kg. But wild boars living in Europe are much larger and more massive. Carpathian individuals, for example, have a mass of 200 kg. The largest pigs are found in Eastern Europe: from the Carpathians to the Urals. The maximum weight of a wild boar is about 300 kilograms. And the "record" registered weight of a boar-boar is 320 kg. Impressive beasts come across in Italy and France (average weight 150 and 230 kg, respectively).

The average body weight of a wild boar varies from 80 to 120 kilograms, with a body length of 900 - 2000 cm. The height at the withers is on average 550-1100 cm.

The average weight of a wild boar is about 100 kg.

Lifespan, reproduction features

Under natural conditions, wild boars live an average of 10 to 12 years. The life expectancy of animals in captivity increases to 20 years. The mating season for these animals falls on November-December. By the beginning of the rut, male wild boars are overgrown with fat and additional muscle mass on the sides, 20-30 mm thick. This "armor" protects boars from the fangs of competitors, who also claim the attention of brides.

During estrus, the female boar-pig carefully marks her own territory with the help of saliva and a secret that is secreted from the glands. The male finds the female by these marks.

During the mating season, bulls lose fat, their bodies are covered with wounds from numerous tournaments with other males. But the reward for the winner is a "harem", which includes from 3 to 8 females. A wild pig bears offspring for about 115 days. Farrowing occurs in April. The first litter of a female usually consists of 2 to 3 piglets, but there are also "record holders" with 10-12 cubs in a litter. 2-3 days before farrowing, the pig is separated from the herd and is preparing a place for childbirth. She digs a small hole in the ground, throwing branches at it.

A wild pig brings offspring in the amount of 3 to 8 individuals.

The mass of newborn piglets averages 0.75 - 1.0 kg. Within 5-6 days they are next to their mother in an impromptu nest. Then the family is reunited with the herd. The piglet follows its mother everywhere. A wild pig feeds piglets with milk for up to 3.5 months. Wild boar grows up to 5-6 years of age. Females become sexually mature at one and a half years, males - much later. They start caring for ladies from the age of 5-6.

Lifestyle, nutrition

A wild pig is a herd animal. The group of wild boars is 20 - 50 individuals. They have a matriarchy: the female leads the group. The boar keeps aloof, joining the ladies' company only with the beginning of the mating season. Animals feed in the morning and evening. Day and night for them serve as a time of rest. Pigs are cautious and shy. Their eyesight is not the best, but their hearing and smell are excellent.

The specificity of nutrition is due to the fact that wild boars dig the ground with their noses.

• They love to eat roots, bulbs and tubers of plants.
• Wild boars feed on young shoots of shrubs, eat leaves, collect fallen fruits, and do not refuse nuts.
• From animal food wild boars eat worms, frogs. This "gourmet" does not miss the opportunity to eat carrion, sometimes ruining bird nests located within its reach.
• Sometimes a wild boar harms a person, ruining fields and crops.

Wild boars love plant foods, but do not disdain worms and frogs.

Wild pigs are excellent swimmers and runners. Even a wide river or lake is not a serious obstacle for them. Given the large body weight, an adult beast is quite dangerous.

Enemies

All large predators are considered enemies of wild boars. But, given the impressive size and weight of the wild boar, even tigers prefer not to mess with adult males, not to mention wolves or bears. A large boar can overpower a bear or a wild cat without much difficulty. Fangs and hooves are quite formidable weapons of a wild boar. Therefore, young individuals usually become victims of predators.

Hunting features

Man is one of the most dangerous enemies of the boar. A trophy in the form of a boar's head with fangs is the object of dreams of any hunter. Wild boar meat is tasty and healthy. Bristle is also used: for the production of brushes, shaving brushes and combs. Boar bristles are also suitable for making brushes for painting.

Wild boar hunting is a very popular pastime.

They hunt forest pigs with dogs. In the forest-steppe regions, horse hunting for wild boars is popular. This occupation is quite dangerous. By itself, the beast is not aggressive, but if scared or angered, it may well stand up for itself. This is especially true for females with cubs.

Diseases

Here is a list of the most dangerous diseases of these animals.

Plague

The most dangerous disease of wild boars, which does not spare animals of all ages. The causative agent of this disease is a filterable virus. The disease is highly contagious. In a frozen corpse of a boar, the virus persists for up to six months, in a decomposing one - for several months. Since pigs live in herds, infection of one animal can lead to mass disease and death. The virus also infects domestic pigs. The meat of a sick animal is suitable for food after boiling for 1 - 1.5 hours. It is not allowed to bring shot carcasses into the territory of settlements. Meat disinfection is carried out in the conditions of specialized enterprises.

The corpses of dead animals are disposed of by filling them with lime, followed by burying them to a depth of two meters. Prevention of mass infection of wild pigs is the shooting of sick individuals, as well as the vaccination of animals.

Often, wild boars get sick with plague, which greatly reduces their livestock.

Scabies

It strikes animals in times of famine. Eating the corpses of animals affected by scabies, the boar becomes ill himself. Reproducing in the skin, the scabies mite causes bristle loss and severe itching. Animals that have strayed from the herd are shot. The skin of the killed animal is disposed of. Meat is considered conditionally edible.

Trichinosis

When eating the corpses of animals affected by trichinosis, the wild boar becomes infected with this disease. In this case, muscle tissue suffers. It affects wild boars and a disease such as helminthiasis.

In order to restore the population of wild pigs after the mass mortality caused by wild boar diseases, it is advisable to ban the hunting of these animals for 2-3 years. Animal disturbance must be minimized to avoid mass migration.

Animals.

Boar structure. Animals of large or medium size. The height at the withers of adult male Caucasian boars is on average 103 cm, with fluctuations from 93 to 120 cm, in females - an average of 75 cm (61-96 cm). The body length in males is from 150 to 205 cm, in females - from 129 to 169 cm (average 144 cm). The total value is an indicator of racial differences. The wild boars of Western Europe and the western regions of Russia are smaller than the wild boars of the Caucasus and Central Asia. For males from Germany, figures are given for a body length of 168 cm and a height at the withers of 89 cm. The largest are wild boars of the Far East, but a smaller race lives in Transbaikalia and Mongolia. The live weight of adult males from the vicinity of the Caucasian Reserve ranges from 64 to 178 kg, females - from 48 to 109 kg (an average of 68 kg - Donaurov and Teplov, 1938). As you can see, the males are much larger than the females. The average size of animals in a given population depends to a large extent on the conditions of existence and on the degree of persecution by man. Even at the beginning of this century, when they were less hunted, animals weighing up to 250-300 kg were found in the Caucasus (Markov, 1932) and with a body length without a tail of about 2 m (Dinnik, 1910). With an increase in fishing, an insignificant part of the animals reaches the age limit.

In the area of ​​the city of Ordzhonikidze, where they are intensively hunted, the average and maximum weight of wild boars is less than in areas adjacent to the Caucasian Reserve, where they are persecuted to a much lesser extent (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938).

The features of the addition of a wild boar compared to a domestic pig are a large head with a long elongated muzzle and powerfully developed fangs in adult males, as well as a relatively short and laterally compressed flattened body on high strong legs. It is characteristic of a wild pig that the height at the withers noticeably exceeds the height at the rump (high front). In general, the front of the body gives the impression of being more powerfully developed than the back.

The length of the head in large specimens can reach up to 60 cm. The chest circumference in adults is on average about 145 cm. The tail is about 24-25 cm long (maximum 32 cm), but, unlike the domestic pig, it is not twisted in a spiral, but straight; when running, it rises vertically. There are no warty outgrowths of skin on the muzzle, as in S. verrucosus.

"Piglet" at the end of the muzzle has the shape of a transverse oval with convex and outer and upper edges. Its height is about 3/4 of its greatest width. The upper half of the patch surface is bare, moist; the lower one is covered with very sparse short hair. The edges of the patch protrude somewhat beyond the level of neighboring sections of the hairy skin of the muzzle. Ears erect with pointed ends.

One of the remarkable features of adult male wild boars is the so-called "Kalkan". The latter is a thickening of the connective tissue layer of the skin on the sides of the back of the chest and neck. It reaches its greatest thickness, up to 4 cm, in the area of ​​the shoulders and shoulder blades, gradually thinning towards the back, head and stomach. Kalkan is so dense that it is difficult to cut with a sharp knife even when fresh. On cut, it has the appearance and texture of callus or fibrous cartilage. The statement that the Kalkan is a layer of resin on the surface of the skin as a result of the boar rubbing against the trees is based on a misunderstanding. In females, the kalkan does not develop. In males, it becomes especially thick during estrus.

The body, like that of other types of pigs, is covered with bristles, between which in the cold season there is a thick, rather coarse, but still crimped undercoat (in southern races it may be completely absent). On the underside of the neck and back of the abdomen, the hair is directed forward (toward the head), on the rest of the body - backward. The length of the guard hairs on the body is about 6-7 cm. On the back of the head, the dorsal part of the neck and the withers, the bristles are elongated up to 12-13 cm, but do not form a prominent mane or crest. The ends of the hairs that form the bristles are usually split into 3-6 thinner bristles, usually bent laterally. The bristle hair is thinner in females compared to males, and also appears to be thinner in western compared to eastern boars. On the head, ears, limbs below the hock and carpal joint, the hair is shorter and, in addition, the ends of the bristles are not split. At the end of the tail, coarse hair forms a brush up to 20 cm long.

The general color of the wild boar in winter is brown with various shades from almost black to gray or yellow. Wild pigs in the western part of the range are darker in color. Lighter colored wild boars of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The undercoat has a light brown or dark chestnut color, on the lower parts of the body it is lighter. In summer it is short, sometimes it can be completely absent. Differences in the color shades of wild boars from different regions and on individual parts of the body in one animal depend on the size of the lightened ends of the bristles, the degree of their lightening, the color and density of the undercoat. The shorter and almost all over blond hair determines the whitish coloration of the end of the muzzle and light stripes on its sides, on the cheeks and throat, which are especially clearly expressed in wild boars of the Far East. At the same time, white spots and stripes clearly delimited from neighboring areas are not formed. The color of the forehead is sometimes lighter than the body, sometimes, on the contrary, darker (for wild boars of eastern Siberia and the Far East). The zoning of the color of individual hairs on the forehead is characteristic; the light area does not occupy the end of the hair, but the middle part, while its base and top are black in color.

The skull of a wild boar has a moderately developed front and brain part in comparison with other species. The length of the skull in small races is from 345 to 375 mm, in large races it exceeds 400 mm, and in males it can reach 490 mm. Some features of the skull (the nature of the fronto-facial profile, the shape and proportions of the lacrimal bones, the relative length of the facial part) are differences between the subspecies. Of the incisors, the first two (middle) pairs are more developed; the third pair is underdeveloped. In the upper jaw, the incisors are wide, curved and set apart from each other, especially the last (third) pair; the first and second pairs are directed downward and towards the teeth of the same name on the other side. The narrow chisel-shaped incisors of the lower jaw are directed almost straight forward, located close to each other; only the alveoli of the last (third) bunk are sometimes separated from the neighboring ones, as well as from the fangs, by an interval of 2-3 mm. Between the incisors and fangs in the upper jaw there is a more significant toothless gap 2–3.5 cm long. The length of the lower fangs in adult males is 6–10 cm. sides and up the upper canines. The wear surface on both the lower and upper canines also includes the top of the tooth. This causes, on the one hand, constant sharpness, sharpness, and on the other hand, limits their growth, especially the upper ones, and length. In rare cases, when the abrasion does not capture the top of the upper canines, the latter continue to grow and, bending the ring up and inward, can pierce the nasal bones through and through. These cases of excessive regrowth of fangs should, however, be attributed to anomalies, and not to the norm. Of the molars, the last posterior molars (M3 and M3) are best developed. The cusps on the back of these teeth (the hypocone) usually form an additional row; the hypocone is especially well developed in wild boars in the western part of the range. Those located in front of the last posterior tooth gradually decrease in size.

Habitat and distribution of wild boars

The ancestor of the modern Palearctic wild boar is probably S. priscus Serr. from the Upper Pliocene. The earliest boar-related remains are known from the Early Quaternary layers of Syria and the British Isles, and in the Pleistocene the boar inhabited the temperate and warm regions of southern, western, and eastern Europe and at least Central Asia.

At present, the area of ​​​​distribution of this species extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and covers northern Africa, middle, southern and eastern Europe, as well as Asia Minor, Central, Central and Eastern Asia north of the Himalayas, to southern Siberia, Transbaikalia, the Far East and some the islands of Japan, inclusive. In former times, the range was even wider and, in addition to the British Isles, also included the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, where the wild boar is currently absent. The once continuous area of ​​the wild boar was relatively recently (probably in the middle of the 18th or early 19th centuries) broken up in the European part of the Soviet Union.

On the territory of Russia, the area of ​​distribution of the wild boar has significantly decreased already in historical time. During the time of the Novgorod principality, for example, there were many wild boars near Novgorod itself,1 in the 13th century. even 60 miles north of the latter. In the Kostroma governorship, wild boars were found at the end of the 18th century. (Kirikov, 1953). A.N. Formozov (1946) connects the northern boundary of the wild boar with the line of the average maximum depth of the snow cover of 30–40 cm. In addition to the depth of the snow cover, the degree of soil freezing (i.e. digging the soil in search of food.

As far as the territory of the Ukrainian and Moldavian SSRs is concerned, back in the 1930s, the wild boar was a frequent animal in all the forests of Volhynia and Podolia (Eichwald, 1830). In addition, he was not only found in the floodplains of large rivers, but even entered the steppe along the valleys of small rivers. In the middle of the last century, he was an ordinary beast in the northern parts of the Kyiv and Chernigov provinces.

Biology of wild boars

Wild boar habitats are diverse and depend largely on the natural conditions of a particular area. It can inhabit valleys and deltas of large and small rivers, coastal lowlands, forests, mountains, up to the alpine zone. In certain seasons, it does not even avoid desert landscapes. However, wild pigs are characterized by a tendency to stick to damp marshy places near water bodies, where you can find puddles of mud in which they love to swim so much.

The seasonality of habitats is determined to a large extent by the presence and availability of food resources. A necessary condition is also the presence of reliable shelters in the habitat. As the last wild boars are dense thickets of reeds, thorny and intertwining shrubs, high weeds, creases, young growth of coniferous forests. The wild boar not only freely passes, but also rushes in such places where it is almost impossible not only for a person, but also for a dog to pass. The whole body of the animal is streamlined, laterally compressed, on short legs, with a cone-shaped head, and deep-seated small eyes, adapted to movement in these conditions.

In the western regions of Europe (in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, and the forests of Belarus, Ukrainian Polissya, in Smolensk and Bryansk regions), the wild boar's favorite habitats are low swampy areas of mixed and broad-leaved forests. In densely populated areas, they keep in the most remote parts of the forest, near rivers and streams with thickets of high reeds. In autumn and winter, especially in years of abundant acorn harvest, oak groves are typical habitats. In the Eastern Carpathians, in the summer, wild boars rise to the mountains above the crooked forest zone and graze in open meadows at night.

In the Caucasus, wild pigs live both in lowland areas and in the mountain belt. Their favorite habitats are reed thickets in the floodplains of large rivers (Kuban, Terek, Kuma, Kura, etc.), as well as damp swampy lowlands to the very coast, the Black and Caspian Seas. In the daytime, wild boars hide in the thickets of reeds, treading numerous trails diverging in all directions. At night, they go out to feed on more open places - meadows, fields and even vegetable gardens. In the mountains, wild boars mainly stick to the forest zone. In places of intense persecution, daytime hours are spent in the most "strong" (hard to pass) places: in thickets of rhododendron, blackthorn, boxwood, dense small oak forest, spruce forest, and thorny bushes. Seasonal features in the placement of wild boars are determined by the food supply, and in winter, in addition, by the nature of the snow cover; cover. A significant part of wild boars (females with piglets, old males) spend summer in the lower forest zone, in the cultural zone; part of the population (young males, gilts, single pigs) rises to the mountains, often leaving the zone of alpine meadows up to 2500 m above sea level. m., and occasionally even in the habitats of the tour and chamois. From the end of summer and throughout autumn, the bulk of the animals concentrate in groves of wild fruit (apple, pear, cherry plum) and nut trees (oak, beech, chestnut, plane tree). The presence of fallen acorns and nuts largely determines the location of animals in the winter. However, the limiting factor at this time is also the depth of the snow cover. With a snow depth of 60-80 cm, movement and food production are very difficult even for large animals.

In some cases, wild boars do not avoid the proximity of human settlements. Their harm to agricultural crops, located even on personal plots, is widely known. In a number of areas in winter, wild pigs keep close to haystacks, which serve as both protection from the cold and a source of food for them.

Boar food

All representatives of the pig family, including the wild boar, are omnivores. Along with the plant foods that make up their main diet, wild pigs willingly eat the animal products available to them, from earthworms to the corpses of birds and large mammals.

The composition of plant foods depends on the natural conditions of the habitat and varies from season to season. A constant component of the wild boar's food, especially in the absence or lack of fruit-bearing trees, are herbaceous plants both in the form of their underground parts (rhizomes, tubers, bulbs) and aboveground. In a number of regions of Central Asia, the rhizomes and shoots of reeds, cattails, and other coastal plants, apart from animal food, are almost the only source of subsistence for wild boars throughout the year. The above-ground green parts of herbaceous plants (cereals, herbs) are of the greatest importance in the food of wild boars in spring and early summer. In the Caucasian Reserve, among the plants in which they eat the above-ground parts are wild garlic, whorled kupena, orchis, sorrel, core, manzhetka and some others (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938). In the lower reaches of the Volga, the favorite food of wild boars is the fruit of the water chestnut (chilim).

The proportion of herbaceous plants in the wild boar's diet in forest areas is greatly reduced starting from the end of summer, when fruits ripen and fall off, and later nuts. Wild boar food in the Caucasus includes cherries, dogwoods, cherry plums, apples, and pears. The latter is given the greatest preference. Together with the pulp, fruit seeds are also eaten, previously crushed by molars. During a significant part of the year, sometimes six to seven months from September to April, the main food of the wild boar in forest areas are the fruits of walnut trees - oak, chestnut, beech, walnut, plane tree, pistachio, and less often hazel. The oak, which is widespread in the European part of the wild boar range, is of the greatest importance. Acorns serve as food for wild pigs, sometimes even in spring, in a germinated state.

The animal food of the wild boar is extremely diverse. One of the first places is occupied by earthworms and insect larvae living in the ground (beetles, dark beetles). On occasion, adult insects are also willingly eaten, especially large beetles, and in the years of mass reproduction, locusts. They also feed on snails and catch frogs. On occasion, burrows of mouse-like rodents are dug up, the remains of which are often found in their stomach. The main food of wild boars in the summer is, according to B.K. Shtegman (1949), fish remaining after the recession of the spring flood in closed drying lakes along the banks of the channels.

The maximum amount of food eaten by an adult boar for one feeding is 2-3 kg; Dinnik (1910) found half a bucket of chewed acorns in the stomach of a wild boar he had killed. In case of lack or difficulty in obtaining food (in winter), they eat mushrooms, roots, bark and even tree branches, moss, dry leaves, rotten wood. Do not disdain the corpses of animals. Looking for roots, bulbs and earthworms, wild boars tear up the soil with a snout perfectly adapted for this purpose, sometimes "plowing" entire hectares. These "kopanki", or sometimes serve as a sure sign of the presence of wild boars in the area.

Boar lifestyle

Wild boars are kept, as a rule, in small groups, rarely more than 10-20 heads, although herds of more than 100 animals are occasionally found in the Ussuri taiga. Usually the group consists of a female and her offspring. The young stay with their mother until one and a half to two years, so two generations usually go with her - the current and the previous year. Several females with their piglets can be united in one herd; at the same time, they not only walk, but also lie down together. Males from the age of 1% -2 years, as a rule, lead a solitary lifestyle, joining the herds of females only for the mating period.

The way of life of a wild boar, its seasonal and daily cycle, to a large extent depend on natural conditions, the yield of feed, and the degree of human persecution. The seasonality of accommodation is especially pronounced in mountainous areas.

In summer, part of the animals, as already noted, rises to the mountains to the alpine and subalpine zones. In winter, snow cover forces most of the population to concentrate in the zone of broad-leaved forests, which is most favorable in this period in terms of food (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938). In the forest zone of the European part of the range, wild boars prefer young forest growth, reed marshes and river banks in summer; autumn and winter are spent in oak groves, which provide the best food base during the years of acorn harvest. We have already mentioned the seasonal migrations of wild boars in desert regions. If wild boars are not pursued, then they can go out for fattening during the day, and rest near the feeding place. However, in most areas, they are forced to hide in “strong” places during the daytime, and feed only after dark or in the early morning hours. At the same time, pigs are often forced to make transitions to a feeding place 15-20 km away. Daily movements have a large amplitude during the period of mass ripening of fruits and nuts, as well as during the rutting period; they are reduced in winter due to the depth of snow and frost. The movements of wild boars are relatively small in deltas and river valleys. Usually here they roam in the reeds, pulling out rhizomes, earthworms from the ground, biting off the green shoots of plants, but at night they go out to neighboring meadows and crops. Only high floods force the animals to leave the floodplain and sometimes move over quite considerable distances.

The main part of wild boars (both males and females) arranges the so-called lairs, or nests. In the simplest cases, the bed is a small depression in the soil. In the cold season, the animal rakes or drags brushwood, ferns, dry grass and leaves into one place, as a result of which a kind of bed is formed, sometimes almost half a meter high. Pigs lie down, especially in the cold season, close to each other, with their heads towards the wind. Beds are located secretly under trees, near stones or in the forest thicket, and in river deltas and swamps - among the reeds in an elevated dry place. For more or less long periods of time, wild boars use one lair only in winter, when their mobility becomes less. In the southern regions of Central Asia, haulouts serve as protection for wild boars from the summer heat and sandstorms. In these cases, they represent holes dug by pigs in the ground under coastal cliffs, under tree roots, in gorges and sometimes reaching: a depth of 1 m. In Latvia, wild boars sometimes climb into haystacks in winter.

The voice of a wild boar is similar to that of a domestic pig and consists mainly of grunts and squeals. When attacked or frightened, pigs can make short sounds like “doo-doo-doo” or “oh-oh-oh” (“buzz”), and males sniff or roar. In general, even the wounded, they are very silent. Of the senses, the boar has well-developed hearing and smell. In the wind, he sometimes feels a person for 350-400 m. But his eyesight is poor (Dinnik, 1910). The boar does not have the ability to run fast. On level ground, he is easily overtaken by dogs and a saddle horse. It swims well, easily swims across wide rivers and swims, if necessary, a kilometer or more deep into the sea.

Shedding in wild pigs begins in April. In the Caucasus, by the end of May and the beginning of June, the old stubble and fluff completely fall out and the animals become almost naked. Suffering greatly from the bites of bloodsucking insects, wild boars climb into dense bushes, into heaps of brushwood and weeds dragged for this purpose, or into puddles with mud that forms a temporary protective shell on their body. The regrowth of the bristles begins by the end of June, and in September it becomes already long. Down reaches its full development only by November.

Boar breeding

Wild boars reach puberty by the age of one and a half years, but a significant part of them, born late or in years that are unfavorable in terms of feeding conditions, begin to breed only in the third year. The sexual season (mating) covers the period from November to January. Its beginning and end fluctuate not only from year to year, depending on food and climatic conditions, but are not the same even for different regions in a relatively small area within one year (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938). In young females, sexual hunting and mating occur at a later date. During this period, females keep in relatively large groups, up to 8-10 animals, if possible in places remote from human settlements. Pigs behave restlessly during the rut, move a lot. Males are very excited, take little food. Between them, fierce tournament fights take place with the help of fangs, sometimes ending in the death or serious injury of one of the participants in the duel. Under these conditions, the Kalkan becomes important, protecting parts of the body that are exposed to blows from deep damage. The most vulnerable and dangerous in terms of damage are the walls of the abdomen, groin and hind limbs, which do not have thickened skin. The sharpest fangs are possessed and therefore the most dangerous are males aged about 4-6 years, called billhooks. In older fangs, although larger in size, they are not so terrible, since their sharp ends become more bent not to the sides, but inward.

The duration of pregnancy is about four months. Young are born from March to May, the bulk - in April. The number of piglets in a litter ranges from 3 to 10, depending on the age of the female and the conditions of the previous autumn and wintering. The average figure in the conditions of the Caucasus is currently 4-5 piglets. In young females, the number of cubs in the litter is less than in adults. Before farrowing, the female or several of them jointly arrange in a secluded place a thick bed (nest) with high edges, in which childbirth takes place. Piglets are born helpless and do not leave the nest during the first week. A pig is a good mother, protects her children, sometimes even throws herself at a person (Dinnik, 1910).

More females will be born, but the sex ratio later levels out as a result of the death of part of the population and in adults it turns out to be almost the same (48% of males and 52% of females, according to Donaurov and Teplov, 1938).

It is believed that under natural conditions a wild boar can live up to 15-20, and in exceptional cases even up to 30 years. Precise data on this issue are not available. The maximum lifespan in captivity (at the London Zoological Gardens) is set at 19 years 6 months and 6 days (Flower, 1931).

The number of wild boars in the same area can change dramatically from year to year. Its fluctuations are due to the uneven harvest of fodder and their different availability in the most difficult winter period, as well as the death of animals from predators, diseases and natural disasters. Poor forage harvest, deep snow and severe frosts are the cause of the mass death of wild pigs from starvation. Repeated cases of this phenomenon took place in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Latvia, the Caucasus, the Carpathians and Central Asia. With a snow depth of more than 55 cm, obtaining food for pigs is very difficult. The formation of crust after a thaw, and in treeless areas freezing of the soil, when animals severely injure their snouts and legs, but cannot get food, have the same consequences. Starvation affects not only the direct death of animals, but also affects the quantity and quality of offspring. Only the high fertility of pigs makes it possible to relatively quickly restore their numbers after the spontaneous death of animals. Due to the lack of food, wild boars sometimes migrate to other places and may disappear from one area or another for a number of years.

The enemies of the wild boar from predators are the wolf, the tiger and occasionally the leopard. Under normal conditions, a wolf cannot defeat an adult male boar, not only alone, but even in a pack. There are cases when an attacking wolf died from the fangs of a wild boar (Shtegman, 1949). Wolves prey in large numbers on young pigs, gilts and piglets. Adult wild boars die from this predator only in deep snowy winters and during hunger strikes, when they can be destroyed by whole herds. A leopard in the mountains often attacks wild boars; due to the rarity of the predator itself, the harm caused by it does not play a significant role (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938).

In Central Asia and the Far East, wild boars are exterminated by the tiger in significant numbers. No wonder the latter is called in Primorye the "Shepherd" of wild boar herds. Attacks on the wild boar by other predators are random.

In deltas and river valleys, the cause of death of newly born piglets is fires in last year's reeds or high and prolonged floods; from the latter, in some years, not only the entire offspring die, but also a significant part of the adult animals that did not have time to move to the upper parts of the delta and remained on narrow unflooded manes (Isakov, 1951). In the Astrakhan Reserve, artificial "hummocks" are successfully used to protect wild boars from floods. The latter represent earth embankments reinforced with logs on the elevated parts of the flooded islands (Dubinin, 1953).

Economic importance of wild boars

The wild boar is valuable as a meat animal. The yield of meat, depending on the fatness of the animal, is about 55-70% of the live weight. An adult male can therefore produce over 100 kg of meat; but large animals are now relatively rare and the average weight of the carcass in the Caucasus when harvested is 50 kg; the bulk of this is made up of six-month-old and one-and-a-half-year-old animals. Boars reach their best fatness in November. At this time, an adult wild boar, weighing 160-180 kg, can produce about 18-20 kg of internal and 30-40 kg of subcutaneous fat (Vereshchagin, 1947). Males lose weight quickly during the rut period. Females retain fatness longer and lose fat only before farrowing. The marketable yield of meat in most areas is still insignificant, but with proper organization of the wild boar trade, it can play a very significant role in creating a local food base. In some areas of the Primorsky Territory, wild pigs have long been a source of meat for the Russian population, which prepares it for future use by salting. The taste and nutritional qualities of wild boar meat are very high compared to other wild ungulates. Only the meat of males during estrus has a specific smell and taste.

In addition to meat and fat, leather and bristles are used. The first can be subjected, like the skins of domestic pigs, to factory dressing. In addition, the local population in the Caucasus sews durable shoes from it - pistons or kalamani (Markov, 1932). Better in elasticity than that of a domestic pig, bristle (about 350-400 g per head) is used in saddlery and brush production. Finer hair and down are suitable for stuffing mattresses and upholstered furniture. The fangs of adult males are used as decoration. Caught at a young age, piglets of wild pigs easily get used to humans and become tame, but we are not aware of cases of breeding wild boars at home. In the habitats of wild boars, their crosses with domestic pigs are common. Thus, it is believed that Kakhetian domestic pigs grazing in oak and beech forests are the product of such crossbreeding. Of practical importance, the domestication of the wild boar and its crossbreeding with domestic pigs can have three improvements in existing and the creation of new breeds of domestic pigs adapted to local conditions. Fertile hybrids of the European wild boar with a bearded pig are known (£. barbatus Mull., Gray, 1954).

The wild boar brings a certain benefit by exterminating harmful insects and their larvae. However, this benefit is outweighed by the harm caused by the extermination of earthworms, which play a prominent role in soil formation, and by digging the soil. Sometimes entire hectares are "ploughed", seedlings and young shoots of trees are destroyed (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938), the integrity of the vegetation cover is violated, and hayfields deteriorate. Wild pigs cause great harm to agricultural crops. Particularly affected, sometimes completely destroyed, millet and corn crops. In hunting farms, wild boars can cause harm by exterminating eggs and young birds. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, there are even known cases of wild boars attacking young growth of large animals.

Boar hunting

The most common methods of hunting wild boar are stalking, stalking, hunting with dogs and rounding up.

Sneaking is one of the most difficult ways to capture this beast. It is possible mainly only in those areas where wild boars are relatively little pursued by humans and graze during the daylight hours. They hide animals at feeding places. The main attention should be paid to the fact that the beast does not smell a person ahead of time; therefore, the approach should be made against the wind, and not vice versa. The hunter's clothes and shoes should not emit a strong odor. Strict observance of silence at the approach is also required; Excessive disguise is not necessary. When feeding calmly, the boar wags its tail all the time, but at the slightest disturbance and alertness of the animal, even if it continues to feed, the tail stops moving. Therefore, for a crouching hunter, he is a sure indicator of the behavior of the beast, signaling the need to make a stop.

The stalking of wild boars is carried out on crops and melons, where wild boars usually come at night. They also lie in wait for them in the places of feeding under fruit and nut trees or on the paths leading from the beds to the places of fattening, in places where the animals wallow in the mud. In all these cases, the hunter must choose a sitting place in the shelter of reeds, trees, large stones, etc., and always so that the wind does not blow from him, but towards him. Since hunting with stalking is carried out at night, the hunter must come to the place of the ambush before sunset. For obvious reasons, bright moonlit nights are chosen for hunting.

Hunting with dogs requires a significant number of the latter, moreover, well-trained and vicious. It consists in the fact that the lowered dogs search for, stop and detain the boar until the hunter approaches. It remains only for the latter to finish off the beast, sometimes with the help of a horn or a dagger. Hounds are suitable for this hunt, but local outbred, specially pried dogs are more often used. From a good boar dog, courage, viciousness and dexterity are required, the ability to grab the beast for those places where he cannot get it with his fangs. A large percentage of dogs during these hunts die from the fangs of an angry beast. The hunter must also be careful when approaching an animal caught by dogs; the latter, seeing a man approaching directly, can rush at him, regardless of the dogs, and cripple him; therefore it is recommended to approach discreetly from the side or from behind.

Wild boar hunting can be very productive (Markov, 1932). In terms of its technique, it differs little from battue hunting for other large animals and consists in the fact that a group of beaters, who have surrounded a piece of forest, directs the animals to the line of shooters. And in this case, the hunters must stand against the wind and observe absolute silence. Both in the Caucasus and in Central Asia, hunting for wild boars on horseback is practiced. On a good horse, it is not difficult to catch up with him. It is only important to force the beast to go out into the open and cut off the retreat into the thickets or rocky mountains.

Occasionally, “combing” the reeds with the dog and shooting the animals that turn up at the same time are practiced. Other methods of catching wild boars (for example, catching with pits, mouths, etc.) are of an accidental nature and are of no great practical importance.

Wild boar hunting is associated with a known risk. Cases of its unprovoked attack on a person are not known, and even a wounded boar most often tries to hide. However, a wounded, and especially an animal enraged by dogs, can rush at the hunter and inflict severe injuries on him. Males apply sharp short blows with their fangs from the bottom up. Females, on the contrary, try to knock down the enemy with a blow and then tear him with their teeth, like a dog. Males never do this. The best way to get rid of a boar kick is to jump to the side or behind a tree; the beast rushes straight and, once missed, does not come back.

Class - mammals

Infraclass - placental

Genus - pigs

Species - wild boar

Literature:

1. I.I. Sokolov "Fauna of the USSR, Ungulate animals" Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1959.

This hunt is more than one hundred years old. And so many years of talking about this topic. When the word “boar” is used, they represent a large boar with huge fangs, this is how it is depicted in old engravings in hunting scenes (for example, in Rubens’ painting “Hunting for a Wild Boar”), where a whole pack of dogs of various colors is besieging him, and around him both on foot and mounted hunters approach him with spears, spears, roguli, swords, daggers.

The boar grins angrily, one can imagine how he clicks his teeth, how he lunges and scatters the dogs tearing him with short blows of his head. The scene is filled with drama, it is clear that the boar intends to send to the forefathers, if not a couple of hunters, then at least a few dogs.

In our time, rarely anyone dares to get such a boar with melee weapons. Both humans and dogs are smart enough to fight a big beast like this, and firearms have come along that make it much less risky to take down a big billhook from a safe distance. And with a knife, a wild boar is also caught now, but much smaller, mainly underyearlings and gilts (last year), although they are not large, they also belong to the Sus scrofa species, i.e. The boar is ordinary.

They are mined using, in general, the same old hunting technology as in ancient times. Dogs find wild boars, choose the one they like best, if necessary, beat him off from the herd and keep him until the hunter arrives. The hunter approaches and mortally wounds the beast with a special technique. It would seem that nothing complicated, but in this exciting and gambling process there are several components, each of which is important.

These components: dogs, a hunter with his understanding of the process and experience, a knife and, in fact, the boar itself, without which there is no way.

Dogs

- And I heard that you catch dogs in Kizlyar, in the fish row, - I noticed.
“It happens, too,” Antip answered, grinning. “But it’s out of necessity: after all, a lot of dogs, sir, disappear, the right word ... Sometimes such a beast will be attacked that five or six dogs will be spoiled.”

N.N. Tolstoy. "Hunting in the Caucasus"

In our countries, the most common boar dogs are huskies. Laikas have a good search, viscosity and anger towards the beast. Not every dog ​​has a set of these qualities, therefore they try to make a pack of dogs with different talents that complement each other. All the boar hunters I know say that it is one, as a rule, a male, rarely two huskies hold a boar. The rest help. They can grab, they can spin around, but it is she who chooses the victim and enters the fray. If there is a choice, then the dogs choose the most accessible prey - the yearling. There is no underyearling, then a little larger. The main husky grabs by the lych, by the cheeks, by the ear, by the scruff, works from the side of the head of the animal, and the helpers spin around and upset by the gacha, by the tail, grab in the crotch. More often, at least two dogs are used, but even one dog can hold a fingerling. Often, large hounds hold and even strangle underyearlings of twenty to thirty kilograms alone. One tall Russian Pinto hound male began strangling piglets at the age of one year, continued to do so with great success all season until he was injured by a boar. Gonchak recovered, but stopped racing. I lost interest not only in wild boars, but also in goats, and in hares with foxes. He became a homebody, not a foot in the forest, he guarded the yard. It also happens vice versa, dogs get seriously injured and after that they work with wild boars with even greater desire. But overly brave dogs do not live long, sooner or later close work on an adult boar turns into mortal wounds. Jagdterriers successfully keep underyearlings. A friend of mine had three yagdas that successfully coped with a piglet up to forty kilograms.

As soon as the first wild boar is taken from under the dogs, it becomes important for them to keep the beast until the hunter arrives. As soon as they grabbed the piglet, as soon as the hunter got it, cut it, from that moment on, such a hunt becomes the most desirable for them. Raising such a dog is not easy. Nataska starts from puppyhood, natural culling, regular feeding in the off-season, feeding, vaccinations, treatment for injuries - the dog becomes valuable for the hunter, not just a tool for hunting, but, of course, a friend. Many hunters for the safety of dogs, for greater convenience in hunting, acquire modern tracking systems for them. These are GPS transmitters on collars and the main device with a screen in the hunter's hands. The screen shows all the movements of the dog in the area, you can determine whether it is sitting or standing, at what speed it is moving. The hunter, by the nature of the movement of the dog, easily determines what he is doing - whether he is working on the beast, chasing him or is in search. Using the device, you can adjust to the movement of the animal or determine with great accuracy the place of its retention, without even hearing the voices of dogs. With a pair of huskies with a wide search, viscosity and equipped with a tracking system, the hunter can hunt with a small mobile team and even alone, adjusting to the work of dogs and the course of a wild boar on the device screen.

But despite all the modern appliances, the life of a boar dog is filled with dangers and injuries. A good hunter not only completes and carries with him a serious dog first-aid kit, but also has primary surgical skills, since dogs cut by wild boars have to be sewn regularly.

In addition to huskies, hounds, terriers, as well as other breeds and all kinds of mestizos, in some countries of Europe and America, dogs of fighting breeds are used to hunt wild pigs with a knife: bull terriers, Staffordshire terriers, pit bull terriers, etc. They are distinguished by a strong long grip, and bull terriers are truly “dead”, “crocodile”. With lightning speed and purposefully they cling to the boar in the lych, in the lower jaw or in the cheek, draw in their legs and try to press the head of the beast to the ground with their weight, thereby fixing it powerfully and reliably. More often these dogs are used only for this and are released on a wild boar already found by other dogs.

Hunter with a knife

“Meanwhile, Balash sat calmly on the shore and took off his shoes, and having taken off his shoes and rolled up his trousers, just as calmly walked to the boar, which the dogs were still holding, slaughtered him and, passing a rope under his fangs, pulled him ashore.”

Most of the boars who keep huskies and successfully cut the beast from under them live in the countryside. This includes huntsmen who conduct driven hunts. They are quite pragmatic people and are not prone to excessive risk and bravado. The underyearling and gilt do not see anything complicated and contradictory in cutting with a knife. Dogs hang on a medium-sized boar, if it is not tired yet, it will spin, it will not let you shoot aimingly, you can spoil some of the meat with a shot, and most importantly, there is a big risk of hooking dogs with a charge. Therefore, it is easiest to take a knife and cut. How do they do it? In two steps. First you need to fix the beast, and then inflict damage incompatible with life. One of the common tricks: lift one back leg and prick with a knife under the shoulder blade in the direction of the heart. It must be remembered that the boar's heart is located in the lower third of the sternum, in the middle, between the front legs. Or by knocking the piglet on its side (it’s easy to say, knocking it to the side! - one avid boar-keeper advised me to do this: approach the boar only from behind, take it firmly by the tail with your left, and with your right hand - by the left front leg and knock it to the side, holding it with your knee from the back ), they also press it from the back with the knee and, holding it by the ear, open the jugular vein and carotid artery, making an incision along the neck from the spine to the throat. Having pressed down with a knee or even sitting on horseback, they hold the front leg and prick in the heart through the sternum or under the shoulder blade. Here are practically two main ways to quickly kill a wild boar - in the heart with surrounding vessels or in the neck.

There is one more trick. If the boar is large enough and nimble: by piercing the lungs through the ribs (and preferably several times), you can achieve a quick death of the animal due to air entering the chest and sticking of the lung. The boar will arrive in a few minutes.

The practical skill of picking up is developed and maintained throughout the season constantly. During the season, each boar cuts several young boars and pigs from under the dogs. This hunt continues throughout the period of driven hunting. If at the beginning of the corrals the dogs sway, they are afraid to work in the corn, where most of the wild boars are kept, then by the end they catch them without any problems, and some even kill the pigs on their own. Inveterate hunters slaughter more than ten wild boars from under the dogs during the season. Many are so passionate about this hunt that they go to the paddock with their dogs without a gun, but with a knife. Most of the interviewed boar keepers indicated that only young animals up to two years old are slaughtered from under the dogs.

Boar knife

A boar sword, a palm tree, a spear, a horn, a boar knife - all this can be successfully used even now for hunting wild boar. And apply! In the Czech Republic and in Germany, where hunting with bull terriers is practiced, both the horn, and the boar knife, and dagger-type knives are used to pick up sufficiently large wild boars. Two bull terriers, more often a female and a male (to exclude the possibility of their unforeseen fights among themselves), hold large boars up to one hundred kilograms in weight. The task of the hunter is to approach the beast from behind and, almost sitting on it, grab his free ear with one hand, and with the other strike under the shoulder blade, aiming from above at the heart. After being stabbed, the wild boar shows the strongest activity, and at this time it is necessary to hold it by the ear and press the beast to the ground with its body. Bull Terriers all this time continue to hold him by the head.

In America, Australia, New Zealand, for similar hunting with dogs, they use a rather large boar knife with a developed guard and a long wide blade. More often, a wild boar, which is held by dogs, is approached from the back side and inflicted a piercing and cutting blow under the shoulder blade, even under the arm, aiming at the heart. And then, without taking out the knife completely, make a few more short cutting blows. If the boar is not very large, then one of the assistants lifts it by the hind leg or both legs, thereby depriving it of support for throws.

When I began to ask our boars about what kind of knives they use for harvesting, two elderly hunters said that they constantly successfully used a sharpened awl made of an iron rod with a blunt end bent in the form of a handle. It was one of the traditional tools for slaughtering domestic pigs. The rest thought about the guard, a comfortable handle to make the blade bigger. The sizes ranged from 12 to 17 centimeters, but all fantasies and variations ended up like this: in general, an ordinary hunting knife, but any other one that will be with you will do.

If there is no knife, then it is difficult to kill even a small pig. I heard about jamming with improvised means, strangulation, neck twisting and even about trying to impale on a sharp branch ... These horrors can be avoided by having a sharpened "ordinary hunting knife" with you.

Boar and its size

The larger the boar, the more dangerous it is and the less willing to poke a knife into it. Experienced likes also adhere to this point of view. Therefore, when dogs find a healthy or wounded billhook in the forest and bark at it at a reasonable distance, few people have the thought of trying to take the beast with a knife.

One of the hunters told how he received his only injury: “Once a friend wounded a large pig, and I was without a gun, only with a knife, and in the clearing I noticed that a raspberry was moving. I thought the underyearling, and wanted to catch it, but there was a wounded pig. In general, while the dogs arrived, she chewed on my leg. The leg became numb only after a year. And I finished the pig - there was simply no other way out.

And there are hunters who have not received a single injury in more than thirty years of such hunting for a wild boar, each season taking several wild boars from under their dogs. Why? Yes, because they did not even think of going with a knife to a large boar. They hunted precisely underyearlings, rarely gilts, and a wounded large boar was only shot.

There is another important reason why underyearlings are preferred to large billhooks. Fingerlings are much tastier. Their meat is juicy and tender, moderately fatty, in comparison with the strong-smelling meat of the billhook, which has a rut during driven hunting.

And yet there are determined and strong people who take an adult and healthy boar from under their dogs with a knife. For this, of course, we need likes that can stop and keep such a beast. And no less important is knowledge and experience - how to quickly slaughter a large beast. These are rare, enthusiastic specialists in a fairly common and numerous tribe of boars.

In hunting stories, there are references to the fact that a large wounded boar, in the absence of cartridges, was silenced with a stone and blows of sticks on the head, and then cut with a knife. I would not recommend this method of supplementation because of its unreliability and great danger to humans.

“At the opening of driven hunting in our area, wild boars live in corn. If there is water in the corn, a non-drying puddle or ditch, then they do not come out of there at all for weeks. After lunch, we decide to redistribute, and most of the hunters are sent to beat the corn. The rooms are at the end of the field. We line up in a chain after 10-12 meters and walk along the rows of corn with a voice, trying to keep the chain. It's dark and warm in the corn. You spread the hard leaves with your hand, but they still touch your face, and then your face itches and itches, almost like from nettles. The rows, closing at the top, form shady corridors along which the wild boars have trampled their paths. Dogs run alongside people. They do not want to get ahead - they feel that the boars have a big advantage in these corn corridors. The shooters are waiting for the appearance of the beast at the edge of the field. Beaters approach, cheerfully shouting. You can hear the rustle, hard leaves move apart. And now, when the shooters are no more than a hundred meters away and it seems that there is no one in the corn, a slight lull sets in. The beaters languidly shout to each other ... Suddenly, under the heart-rending barking of dogs, in a small piece of the field, there is a clatter and squeal, the hooting of a pig, the herd does not leave the corn into the forest, where the numbers are quietly standing, but turns to the line of beaters and breaks through between people in the opposite direction from acceleration. Pigs are not visible, but very well audible, only a few see for a moment the dark sides slipping in the neighboring rows. It is impossible to shoot accurately. If it weren't for the black muzzled male Laika, who seemed to be a lazy bumpkin before, we would have been left without prey that day. Taking advantage of the turmoil, he grabbed the underyearling, and the rest of the dogs, plucking up courage, fought off the pig from the herd. The hunters who arrived in time for screeching and barking quickly finish the young of the year. The huntsman looks contentedly at the gangster muzzle of the dog: “It’s not for nothing that I bought him for fifty bucks before the corral!” The next day, the dogs dispersed and by lunchtime, they got us two more piglets in the same way.

Russian hunting magazine, January-February 2013

In appearance, three age groups can be distinguished: piglets (yearlings), gilts (two-year-olds) and adults. It is especially easy to distinguish between piglets and adults, it is more difficult to distinguish gilts, since a large gilt can be confused with a pig.

Piglets are smaller, lighter in color than adults (light color lasts up to a year) and longer legs. In gilts (in the 2nd year of life), withers develop, bristles grow along the back. Adult animals are more massive than gilts, the bristles on the back grow more strongly. This difference is especially well manifested in billhooks.

In the field, it is quite possible to distinguish an adult male from a pig, and not only because the billhooks have long curving fangs (it’s just that the fangs are hard to see at a long distance at dusk), but rather by silhouette. Males are distinguished by a larger head, a massive front part of the body, they have a more developed withers and a more magnificent “mane” along the crest of the back. They look slenderer than females, possibly due to the fact that their body is laterally flattened, while females have a barrel-shaped body.

In young individuals - piglets and gilts - sexual demorphism is poorly developed.

Piglets usually weigh 25 - 45 kg (the weight of the animal largely depends on the feeding conditions and timing of reproduction), gilts - up to 65 - 70 kg (sometimes more with good feed), adult animals: females from 120 to 180, males - from 140 up to 200 kg. The weight of the largest billhooks reaches 260 and more kg.

The most accessible definition of age is by the development of the dental system and the degree of wear. Two works are known for determining the age of the wild boar using this method: for the Western European wild boar (Kozlo, 1975) and for the Ussuri wild boar (Bromley, 1969). Below is a description of the dental system of wild boars of different age groups for the autumn-winter season, i.e., during the hunting period.

Piglets (7 - 11 months) - a total of 36 teeth. By this age, the 3rd dairy is usually cutter is replaced by a permanent one, and the 1st and 2nd incisors are noticeably erased. The change of milk fangs begins. Anterior roots are still milky, but they begin to wear out. At the 3rd anterior tooth, the chewing surface becomes cone-shaped. At the 1st large molar, by 10-11 months, the chewing tubercles are smoothed out.

Gilts (18 - 23 months) - a total of 40 teeth. By this age, the change of milk teeth to permanent ones usually ends. Second big root tooth fully developed.

Two-year-old individuals - a total of 40 - 42 teeth. The 3rd root begins to develop. tooth. The anterior molars are completely differentiated and have erased apices. The fangs of males reach a length of up to 40 mm, in females they are noticeably shorter.

Three-year-old individuals - the number of teeth is 44. The incisors are slightly worn, the wear of the anterior molars increases. The 1st and 2nd posterior teeth begin to wear out.

Four year olds. All teeth have traces of wear, and most importantly, the 3rd posterior tooth begins to smooth out, where dentin lines appear.

Five year olds. At the 1st and 2nd incisors, the upper inner sides are ground off. As a result of erasing, the incisors are shortened. The surfaces of the anterior and posterior molars wear out heavily, and in the 1st and 2nd, the tubercles and folds of enamel are erased, the dentin takes on a star-like shape, this is especially characteristic of the 3rd large molar, although it still has tubercles. In billhooks, transverse furrows are outlined on the upper fangs, which correspond to the age of the beast (this feature does not appear in all individuals).

Six- and seven-year-old individuals. The incisors are strongly sharpened and shortened. The molars are much more worn than in animals of previous ages. In the anterior molars, the dentin appears as dark stripes, in the posterior teeth, small folds begin to wear out, and individual dentin stars are interconnected by dark spots. At the 1st large molar, the crown begins to grind.

Eight-year-olds and older individuals. Teeth begin to decay and fall out. The 3rd incisors and the 1st and 2nd anterior teeth break off especially often. The fangs gradually become thinner. The crowns of all molars are worn off. In older individuals (10 years and older), the posterior teeth are worn down almost to the gums, and the enamel folds disappear.

Underyearlings

They have a child-shaped head, a short snout, small ears, covered with short bristles. Light spots are clearly visible on the head. The color of the body is striped, yellowish-brown, which lasts up to 5-6 months, completely disappears in August. The tail is short and thin, reaching to the middle of the thigh. In winter attire, the body seems more powerful due to the regrown underfur. The legs are relatively short and covered with dark hair. In good light and at a short distance, the brush on the tail is already noticeable at this time. In the illustration on the right, the letter A denotes a fingerling at the age of 4 months, the letter B - 8 months.

gilt

next age class "gilt". It is considered from one to 2 years. There is no more precise definition, since even wild boars a year older often look like a classic gilt. The head, due to the overgrown winter bristles, seems short and blunt; the childish forms completely disappear. The shape of the hull becomes more powerful, especially in the front. Light stripes are not visible. On the lips, swelling is clearly visible, through which the tips of the lower fangs are visible. The ears are short, covered with powerful bristles. The tail is long, almost to the hock, with a brush at the end. By December, the length of the lower fangs is on average 116 mm. The width at the base is 19.0 mm., at the beginning of the section - 12.0 mm. Brandt's number - 1.6 Girth of the upper canines 54 mm. Average weight 38.0 kg. On the left is a male, on the right is a female. The question of weight is quite controversial. since it depends entirely either on the abundance of natural food, or on appropriate feeding. So, for example, in the Moscow Regional Society fingerlings reach a weight of 41 kg. due to abundant feeding, naturally the weight of gilts is much higher. At the same time, in societies where everything is not so prosperous, weight indicators are much lower. This example is given to emphasize the exceptional importance of winter feeding.